Green gold: bamboo is a winner when it comes to land restoration

19 July 2018
Story

Beijing, China – Land degradation is a serious threat to the stability of communities and nations, and to peace and security throughout the international community. Land degradation neutrality (LDN), which is SDG Target 15.3 of SDG 15 Life on Land, is both an integrator and an accelerator of the other SDGs. Countries that implement the LDN targets stand the best chance of, at once, achieving the other SGDs and breaking from the past unsustainable development paths.

Stressing the need to approach land degradation, climate action and sustainable development holistically. Dr. Pradeep Monga, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNCCD, recently spoke to the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) about the landscape approaches in agriculture. He emphasized that one of the biggest global challenge today s is to address the economic, social and ecological aspects of land restoration simultaneously, providing sustainable jobs and income generation while protecting ecosystems.

Recent INBAR report shows that bamboo planting can provide an attractive option for land restoration, having shown positive environmental and socio-economic effects in several countries. With its long root systems, ability to grow on degraded soils and steep slopes, and extremely fast growth, bamboo can quickly revegetate even the most damaged landscapes – for example, former brickmaking sites in India and degraded mining areas in Ghana.

Along with environmental benefits, planting bamboo can benefit local communities by bringing tourists, generating income and creating thousands of jobs. All this makes bamboo planting a strong choice for reaching a range of sustainable development objectives, such as poverty alleviation, climate change mitigation, land restoration, earthquake-resilient construction and low-carbon product creation.